Sam Peters

Sam Peters News

Bill Miller, the stock picker who rose to fame after beating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for a record 15 years, bought J.C. Penney Co. debt for a new Legg Mason Inc. fund that can invest in a mix of equities and bonds.

Legg Mason Inc.’s Sam Peters , the manager named last week to eventually succeed Bill Miller on the $4.24 billion Value Trust fund, said clients shouldn’t expect big changes to the investment style put in place by his mentor.

Bill Miller, the Legg Mason Inc. manager famous for beating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for a record 15 years through 2005, will step down from his main fund after trailing the index for four of the past five years.

Legg Mason Inc., the money manager best known as home to stockpicker Bill Miller, is folding Miller’s Legg Mason Capital Management division into its ClearBridge Investments equity unit as assets have tumbled.

Legg Mason Inc.’s Mary Chris Gay, a portfolio manager at the division that was home to Bill Miller, has left as her unit is folded into the firm’s ClearBridge Investments equity affiliate after a decline in assets.

Bill Miller, the Legg Mason Inc. manager known for beating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for a record 15 years through 2005, will step down from his main fund after trailing the index for four of the past five years.